Cover 3: “Limiting Explosives” Philosophy Is Crippling Bucs Defense

Cover 3 is a weekly feature column written by PewterReport.com’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat writer Trevor Sikkema published every Tuesday. The column, as its name suggests, comes in three phases: a statistical observation, an in-depth film breakdown, and a “this or that” segment where the writer asks the reader to chose between two options.

Sikkema’s Stat(s) of the Week

So what came first, the chicken or the egg?

What is to blame for Tampa Bay’s horrendous defense this year – the pass rush or the coverage? Or is it the injuries? Or is it the coaching? Or is it the players?

The confusing part about the Bucs’ defensive struggles over the last few weeks is that the answer to all of those question is “yes” – to an extent.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the third worst defense in the NFL in total yards given up per game (408.5) and are fourth worst in the NFL in total points given up per game (25.2). As you would expect, they’re the third worst team in the NFL in terms of passing yards given up per game thanks, in part, to the struggles in their secondary, which led to high amounts of passing yards being given up in the Vikings, Giants, Patriots and Cardinals games. However, against the run, to start the year, they had been great, limiting teams to less than 100 yards in half of their contests.

Bucs DC Mike Smith – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But then came the last two games where the Buccaneers have surrendered 160 and 173 yards on the ground while still letting both teams air it out, as well.

So what gives? How is a team that limited the Bears to just 20 yards rushing a month ago now getting gashed for more than 150 yards on average in the last two weeks?

Middle linebacker Kwon Alexander, safeties Keith Tandy and T.J. Ward, and defensive end Ryan Russell being limited or out due to injury didn’t help, but I think the Bucs’ defensive problems run deeper than that.

I think it’s coaching, and not just in what defensive plays are called and which ones aren’t – although that obviously has its blame, as well. I think it’s a philosophy flaw that is crippling the Bucs defense, or at least making their margin for error far too small.

Since Dirk Koetter’s time in Tampa Bay, we’ve continued to hear the term “explosive plays” or “explosives,” as they coaches will call them for short. Explosive plays are categorized by the Bucs as passes of 16 yards or more and run plays of 12 yards or more – don’t ask me why those are the numbers that Koetter chose to chart, I have no idea.

I believe there was an emphasis on explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball, too, except, on the flip side, it’s about limiting them instead of creating them.

Last year the Buccaneers defense gave up six plays of 50 or more yards, which was tied for the fifth most in the league. This year, almost halfway through the season, they’ve only done that one time, which is tied for the best (lowest) in the league.

That, to me, tells me they’ve really put an emphasis on not getting beat deep, which is cool, but it’s coming at a price.

The Buccaneers often like to play their safeties in what teams call a “Cover 2 Shell,” which is simply two deep safeties rather than maybe one deep and one helping the linebacker in the run or possible in man coverage in the slot. When they play two deep, however, they’re not exactly in helping roles; they’re more in quarters (Cover 4) coverage. What the difference is, is that instead of having, say, the outside cornerbacks in man coverage with the two deep safeties each playing a deep zone (wherever that may take them) over the top to help out, they’re dividing the field up into fourths with the corners in more of a total zone look. That means each is still technically on their own for deep plays.

Quarters coverage has a time and a place, but I don’t like it as a base.

Here’s why.

People constantly ask me what the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team is in terms of the defense. By the end of the 2016 season, this defense was rockin’. They were confusing quarterbacks, getting sacks and grabbing takeaways. That was a catalyst for their big win streak. This year they don’t have that, and a good portion of that last year, if we’re being honest, was because of luck.

Tampa Bay is third worst in the NFL in terms of passing yards given up per game this year, but last year they were only better than this year by 40 yards a game. It wasn’t as if things were that different, they were just getting takeaways.

Bucs CB Brent Grimes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That brings us back to the safeties. Instead of playing their safeties in definitive, deep zone, box help or man coverage roles, they’re trying to keep some sort of mystery by putting both safeties (whoever they are) equally deep at the snap. This is so both of the safeties have the option of either playing a deep safety look if a receiver to their side starts beating the cornerback or playing a “robber” zone role over the middle. Remember Keith Tandy’s interception at home last year against Drew Brees? That’s a robber look. Instead of backpedalling at the snap, you’re sort of waiting in the area over the middle, watching the quarterback’s eyes and hopefully jumping a route.

When Mike Smith’s style of defense was still relatively new last year, teams played into the Bucs’ hands and threw into those robber zones much more than they do this year. Now that other teams know how Tampa Bay’s safeties are going to play, they’re not doing that as often. So instead this year you just have both safeties in no-man’s land – not deep enough to help the corners and not close enough in the box to stop the run.

The result is this.

Where the Buccaneers were first in the NFL in 50-yard plays given up, they’re in the back half of the league in terms of 20-yard plays given up.

And if you go even smaller to 10-yard plays given up (still a first down per one of these plays), it gets even worse.

Throughout all three charts, you’ll see teams like Indianapolis, Kansas City and New England on the wrong side of things. Those are just bad pass defenses. But, on the other hand, there are some good defenses that either get unlucky or just have a blown coverage every now and are higher on the 50-plus yard chart, like the Eagles, the Cardinals and the Jaguars, who progressively get lower as the yards get shorter on “explosive plays.”

That’s how you want things to go. If you get unlucky or a quarterback just hits a perfect deep pass on you, fine. Good for them. But the Buccaneers are the opposite. Tampa Bay seems to be so worried about defending the deep ball that it’s actually hurting itself because it is letting offenses move the ball through the air at will on 10-20 yard plays with soft coverage.

This is the whole topic around Vernon Hargreaves (and now Brent Grimes since we saw even him struggle with it in the Bills game). If both safeties are play at an even depth and either one them could be a “robber” player and not a deep zone player, you, as an outside cornerback, can’t rely on deep help because you don’t know which one it’s going to be until it happens. That means you have to keep everything in front of you – and that means everything.

That’s why when you saw receiver John Brown of the Cardinals run a 25-yard comeback route on a flea flicker against Hargreaves. It worked because Hargreaves is up against a speedster one-on-one and has no idea if he’s going to get help. I have to think he’s being told by coaches to not let anything over his head and that’s why you see this lack of aggression and confidence – it’s all due to safety play and safety positioning or lack thereof. So if one safety is going to be a robber and one is going to be a deep man, but neither cornerback knows which one it’s going to be, how does that help them?

The answer: it doesn’t – at all. In fact, if it does happen to help them, it’s either due to a predictable offense going up against great preparation during the week, or it’s just luck.

That’s why I think Tampa Bay is so much higher on the yardage-per-play list on 10 and 20-yard passes, because they’re so far off in coverage because I think they’re being told above all else they can’t get beat deep while having no definitive help.

The philosophy makes sense: don’t give up big, quick touchdowns. Every defense wants to prevent that. But it appears the length or the scheme at which Smith and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are trying to limit that is actually making things worse.

When you don’t have definitive roles at your safety positions, your cornerback, especially ones in non-close coverage, might panic. And you know what else can’t happen when you play your safeties the way the Bucs are? They can’t help the run.

Click to the next page to get an X’s and O’s film session of how the Bucs are failing in run defense and why help isn’t on the way because they aren’t letting the help, well, help.

About the author

Trevor Sikkema is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat reporter and NFL Draft analyst for PewterReport.com. Sikkema, an alumnus of the University of Florida, has covered both college and professional football for much of his career. As a native of the Sunshine State, when he's not buried in social media, Sikkema can be found out and active, attempting to be the best athlete he never was. Sikkema can be reached at: [email protected]

50 Comments

great breakdown of the system Trevor. I appreciate you explaining the thought processes in what they are trying to do. To me though, it all begins/ends with the D line. If they were able to consistently sack the QB then the turnovers would come much more often and the rest of the defense wouldn’t have to worry if they have help or not because the QB wouldn’t have all freakin day to sit back there and throw. Watching Case keenum light them up was just sickening. It still burns me that that guy continues to own the Bucs. I only hope we get it right on the draft or pick up an elite free agent or trade…not another case off.

This passive defense crap is a slow death that simply wears down your players physically and mentally. At least if you’re playing with some aggression and calling plays that put confidence in your players, you’re giving them something to play for. You’ve got a higher likelihood of forcing turnovers which will inject life into the defense. It seems like calling a more aggressive game is how this defense came alive last year…so why did we revert back? This defense is running in quicksand right now and will be until Mike Smith wakes up.

It’s funny because I think kind of the opposite is true on offense. On defense, I’d rather us give up those one-on-one’s on the outside that allow the opponent to hit on deep balls here and there, because they’re low percentage plays. Our opposing defenses seem to realize that. On offense, we’re running way too many low percentage plays…and I don’t know if that’s on Dirk or Jameis. We threw deep way too many times last week. I think it’s to the point where teams know that we can’t hit the deep ball, so they’ll give us those opportunities because we’re gonna try to hit those shots regardless. We’ve got all these damn weapons, virtually impossible for non-elite defenses to cover all these guys consistently, and we’re taking deep shots on crucial 3rd and 3’s? WHY?!?! What do we have a 20% chance to hit those on a good day? Yet if you give me a roll out on 3rd and three with all of our weapons operating underneath, I like our chances better than 50% to find somebody open or for Jameis to use his legs.

I don’t know what the hell we’re doing on offense or defense…but we are operating an offense that has a very low percentage to consistently sustain drives…and a defense that has a very low percentage to ever stop a drive. It better end this week or our season will.

The problem is the front office and the coaching. As they love to repeat so often “these are our guys, there’s no calvary coming to save the day” well that’s due in large part to you all not addressing any of the problems we currently have. The defensive line resigned Will Gholston who has never been anything than more than a solid DE against the run. We brought in Baker who was a run stuffer up the middle and then crickets. Yet we stand here shocked that the pass rush hasn’t improved yet we did nothing to address it. We relied on Spence taking this gigantic leap, which was obviously an incorrect assessment from front office and coaching based on the production we saw. The secondary looks confused and let’s look why, we let McDougald leave in FA who played well down the stretch then added Evans and Ward. We rotate them in so nobody is getting enough reps to find the continuity that we struggled to find last year until they turned it around. The defense, knock on wood, hasn’t been hit with some rash of injuries, the LBs got hurt but the players behind them stepped up and played well. It was the terrible assessment the team made this offseason not to address the pass rush and then to shake up the wrong part of the secondary. At some point we can’t keep firing coaches and coordinators without looking at the man responsible for the holes on this roster. Licht has fooled many with some obvious draft picks but his tenure as a GM is not the rose colored picture some have portrayed. That said Mike Smith needs to start dialing up some pressures with the LB talent we have. He is very correct in that there’s no calvary coming to save the day so stop calling the same plays and hoping that just bc it’s a different week that it will work. If the stunts upfront are not working then stop running them, if VHIII played his best game in the slot then leave him there regardless of who plays outside, if Ward is truly the upgrade you sold the fans on then play him, if we have no pass rush then use that outstanding LB depth to generate one. It’s not rocket science SWITCH IT UP!

I’ll say this: it’s easy for use to criticize offseason moves (the ones that happened and the ones that didn’t) in hindsight. Back in the offseason, we thought the Bucs spent their money and drafted pretty well, but some of it just hasn’t come to fruition like they maybe envisioned right off the bat.

That doesn’t mean it can’t. Things can certainly change, but I do think they need to a bit. Coaches talk about putting their players in the best places to succeed, and I don’t think they’re doing that.

I disagree, I have called VHIII the worst CB in football all last year and the summer but I was met with excuse after excuse about why he was torched so often. Spence was talked up all summer by everybody affiliated with the Bucs so fans from afar had no choice but to wait and see how it panned out. His 4.5 sacks last year were decent but certainly not enough that no offseason additions were needed at that position. Also people assumed the team had a good gauge on Jacquis Smith and his health which were obviously not correct. We have no choice but to wait and see when they give glowing reviews of all these players when they are playing football in shorts but when the pads come on then it’s time to judge those assessments and frankly they were wrong. Desean signed because of Jameis and has said so on numerous occasions, OJ fell in the draft and the rest of the offseason was blah. I also stated that we should re-sign McDougald bc he played well and safety didn’t appear to be the issue with our defense last year. It’s an absolute travesty that in the 4 years he’s been on the job we still have GMC and a group of rotational players around him. I’m certainly not saying Im perfect in my player assessments but its bad when a guy that has a 9-5 can do a better job identifying these issues than the person paid to do it.

McDougald wouldn’t do anything to put this defense on track so dont kid yourself. And why should anyone listen to you? You just said that you bashed our first two picked rookies all last year, so yeah I wouldn’t listen to you either. Licht has gotten us talent, that has never been disputed so you taking shots at him too is ridiculous. Could we use more pass rush? Of course. But the fact that you called Baker a run stuffer when he was known as a pass rusher in Washington makes me trust you even less than the guy bashing rookies. Spence re-dislocated his arm in what the first game, first series this year? So he had to continue to rely on his speed rush which opposing teams have a year plus of tape on. He talked about developing an inside move that he couldn’t use when he hurt his arm again.

It’s easy to be negative and praise yourself when a player struggles after you’ve called him bad. It’s harder to actually identify what we need and make it all work.

Brobear you can say what you want about McDougald but when the Bucs turnaround started he was starting and making plays. People shouldn’t listen to me because I said Aguayo and VHIII were trash and they were? Not sure what kind of sense that makes but have at it. Baker came to us with 1 more sack last year than McDonald who nobody would call a pass rushing DT. Both solid players but nobody called Baker a pass rusher outside of your house. Make the excuse for Spence all you want but all I see is a guy who produced 1 sack through 7 games. Using his injury is a cop out bc nobody is healthy and he decided to play through it so the lack of production is on him. Jason Licht has drafted 1 legit defensive starter in his 4 years on the job, must be nice to be that bad and the blame still goes everywhere else.

The problem with this scheme is that the safties are playing too soft along with the CBs. And cover 4 works when it is used sparingly mixed in with cover 3 and cover 2. If Smith insists on cover 4 so much the Bucs might as well switch to prevent defense full time.

This is crazy that a modern NFL defense is built upon prevent and cover 4 principles. Crazy.

Yep – Trevor has been writing this for the last several weeks now. Some fans prefer to name scapegoats and then it’s all just a meme and narrative thereafter, facts be damned.

Players still have to make plays. But coaches gotta coach. Last year I thought Coach Smith was on the way to building the next great Bucs defense. However, our eyes aren’t lying, and the stats aren’t lying, and the Ls are reality, not subject to argument.

Either Coach Smith makes some major adjustments and gets our defense back on track again, or we are headed for another top 5 draft pick … and someone has to pay with their head. Maybe several heads.

Even Grimes can’t hold up in this scheme anymore. Bottom line is that the Bucs don’t have the worst CB’s in the league but the stats would indicate this.

The scheme is seriously flawed for the back end players.

As for the front seven the Bucs need to be more aggressive using their down linemen on run down situations or short yardage. Why bring in Baker if you are going to take him off the field? WTF? Can a team run on a five down line formation of Gholston, Baker, McDonald, McCoy and Ayres? Lets find out? A 3-3-5 alignment in a goal line situation is pure lunacy.

i really can’t believe what i am reading here. I know this will piss people off, but please, just be REAL. These r professional athletes!. if i paid you MILLIONS every year, you better believe I am going to hold YOU accountable. What the hell is wrong with our society who keeps making excuses for mediocrity?

Nobody is making excuses for players, but you are making excuses for coaches by blaming the team performance on players who played great until they got into the current scheme.

VHIII was a unanimous all America cornerback in college, He was projected by virtually all draft experts to be a clear first round, top 10 talent, and we got him at no. 11. He plays hard, has a great attitude, is healthy, and he didn’t suddenly lose his talent or get stupid when he got to the Bucs.

It’s not just VHIII either. Grimes is also not performing much better, and neither is our All Pro safety, TJ Ward. The best three-tech DT in the league, GMC, is being told by the coaches to stunt all the time instead of use his skills to get to the quarterback. He doesn’t like it. Our HOF DT Warren Sapp also says it’s stupid to do all that stunting, but that is what Coach Smith demands of his defenders.

Trevor walked us through his analysis of what is wrong with Smith’s defensive scheme. Maybe Trevor is wrong, and maybe it is all on stupid players who just can’t play. But I think it is far more likely that Trevor is right on, and the schemes suck.

Schemes and coaching matter a LOT in football. Players gotta play, but just like soldiers with bad generals, if you put your troops into the field with a bad warplan and teach them to use loser tactics, they will lose most of the time.

They seem to be playing quarters coverage (Cover 4) way more than you think an NFL defense should. It should really just be used for long distance downs or situations. They’re running it on 1st downs, 2nd downs and 3rd downs. The pieces just don’t seem to help one another.

REALLY??? apologize to a guy who was drafted in the 1st round to be an impact player! Sink or swim bitch! 11 overall, you better be able to fucking play, period. I bet you make all kinds of excuses for people around you on a daily basis. This guy is paid MILLIONS to get RESULTS, not EXCUSES!!!

If the Bucs went 3-4, even in nickel, with Evans as the deep man, Ward as a box safety and the corners playing more agressive, I think you’d see better gap control and more forced throws by a quarterback. Or even if they stayed 4-3 with a more aggressive style. Not as natural, but could still work.

But, I always have to say this, I get a very limited view of guys at practice. So, these are just my suggestions of what might work better than what’s not working now.

Since they don’t dress Siliga, and red shirted Stevie T to I.R., I can only assume they don’t want a true nose tackle. Or maybe they need to justify Bakers signing. Still makes you wonder why then they would draft Mr.T, and sign Siliga. We bought the kool aid that Smith, unlike Lovie would adjust his scheme to fit the players talents, that was false. The real problem is the Glazers, who are constantly making the wrong choice’s for coaches, and G.M.. Hire someone with a proven track record like the Jags did with Coughlin to straiten out this mess. Speaking of the Jags saw a good interview with their coach Marone on NFL net. He was asked about his grueling training camp, here’s what he said. Training camp is the only real practice you can do, can’t do it during the season. So he believes make it as hard as possible to prepare his players, then go easy during the season. I’m assuming the Jags don’t play ping pong in the locker room. The Jags are a hard nosed football team that’s getting it done, us we see the results. Koetter, and Smith aren’t going to change, and Licht will still make questionable personal decisions. If the Glazers clean house yet again, which I think they should do. Find someone competent to hire your next G.M., head coach. Enough first time coaches, and G.M.. Morris, Shiano, Koetter, Dominick, Meathead, none of them worth a crap. The Glazer hires have been our down fall.

I don’t know what it is, but I do know at one point they tried to pinch Will Clarke as an interior defensive lineman instead of getting McDonald or Siliga in there, and the play got blown up to his side at no one’s surprise.

1) What’s the difference between a 3-4 and 3-3-5? Like the rest of the NFL, the Bucs are going to be in a nickel package most of the time. So if you’re base is a 3-4 then a 3-4 becomes a… 3-3-5.

I’ll agree it looked ugly at times. I saw that TD run by McCoy and that middle was wide open. Purely by alignment they were giving up a TD. Poor coaching. And nice catch with the run to the right side where the safety didn’t come down. They were in what looked like C3 and clearly that safety was robbing (and should’ve come down to the box pre-snap). Either bad coaching or bad execution by the player.

2) You’re right, it seems the Bucs did misdiagnose Baker. I assumed coming from a 3-4 where he played some nose he’d be an effective run defender in a 4-3. But according to all the reports I could find (here: https://www.scoutingacademy.com/2017FADL) he’s really suited to one-gapping and it seems like he really only played nose on passing downs.

3) The whole Cover 4 thing is being overblown. First, there are only four zone coverages you can run: C2, C3, C4, and mixed (like C6). Cover 2 is pretty much Cover 4 now. Cover 3 give LESS help to to the CBs (although more help in short zones).

In 2016 the Bucs didn’t lead the league in running Cover 4 (the Panthers and Raiders were). They did run zone coverages 5th most in the league though.

Part of the problem is that the Bucs have ONE good coverage player: Grimes. Any coverage will look bad if you’re 2nd CB is burnt toast and you have castoffs at safety.

4) Criticism of keeping the safeties high is also overblown IMO. It gives you a little more disguise and can give you more flexibility. If you’re alignment is correct, it shouldn’t change much over starting near the box. The issue is more that the Bucs don’t have safeties that are good at coverage.

1. Sure the numbers may come out the same, but you know as well as I that the 3-3-5 they ran and the 3-3-5 as a technical nickel set from a 3-4 isn’t the same thing. How they used Beckwith as that third linebacker along with the spacing of the defensive line was awful. That was my point.

2. Agreed on Baker. Not the guy they thought they were getting, it seems. Which is still OK, but don’t put him in positions you know he won’t thrive. They’ve had time to see that now.

3. I don’t like the way they’re playing Cover 4 because they’re playing so far off. Due to that, I don’t like them playing Cover 4. If they were playing it more aggressive, it might be OK. But, at this point, I’d rather them play Cover 3 (which, yes, by definition has less help by numbers but maybe not by play style) or really, I’d rather them try a bit of Cover 1 with man. Because with the scheme they have now, if that zone isn’t so damn perfect, it’s picked a part so easy.

I mean, if they don’t have the athletes to play any sort of man coverage than this all might be a moot point and they’ve just assembled too many non-athletes at athletic positions.

4. You and I might just agree to disagree on the safety thing. Like, if they can’t cover, OK, I guess it will never get better – as you have stated you believe with only one guy who can cover. But, right now neither safety helps the cornerbacks in the pre-snap with where they might be and both are easily manipulated by a good quarterback. Would much rather live with the lumps of Evans deep and let Ward play as a box safety.

1. Correct. And as you pointed out, some of that alignment from the 3-3-5 was abysmal. Wasn’t just on that TD run in the red zone.

4. I mean clearly they need to change things up. They tried more man against the Bills (it seemed like from the broadcast) and it appeared to work better (although against a terrible WR corps). But then again, why are you running more man against a mobile QB like Taylor?

I’ve argued for more clearly defined roles from the safeties going back to Raheem and his interchangeable safeties. For that reason, I liked Schiano’s approach (with the safeties) more. I don’t disagree with you, I just don’t think it will really change anything. It’s like 34th on the list of issues with this defense. If they had players that could fulfill more traditional free/strong roles I think Smith might run that more.

I think as the season goes on maybe that becomes Evans/Ward but as you yourself have pointed out – they’re not there yet. And as you know, communication is critical from the safety position (and is underrated).

And in terms of being out of position to help the CBs and being manipulated, that’s just a talent (and coaching) thing – not alignment. By the snap they’re getting to their landmarks, it’s just a pre-snap disguise. But it is a communication issue, which does suggest less rotation (to your point).

This is my favorite Cover 3 to date! It’s on point, and a perfect example of why this team is struggling. This explosive emphasis on offense and defense is backwards. This is why the offense sucks in the redzone to date.

The offense is offensive too. Jameis doesn’t throw a good deep ball, he is the master of trying to fit the ball into tight spots. You create points by thinking first downs lead to touchdowns. Master the first down plays and redzone scoring will become simple. Then when defenses are trying to take away first downs, it creates explosive.

I live in Pittsburgh, and all I hear everyday is how Martavis Bryant wants traded, should be traded, STEELER this or that. The steeler offense is at it’s best going to Antonio Brown, Smith Schuster, guys that get open quick with crossing routes. Even with Bryant, the steelers aren’t getting explosive from him. Bryant is sitting this sunday, the steelers will have their most productive day on offense.

This is the way I see it. Smith needs to go because if he hasn’t seen what most of us are seeing; he shouldn’t be allowed to continue in destroying the Defensive side of the team; it’s exactly what he is doing and the last Smith did it to both sides. I’m giving Koetter a pass because the offense is not the problem and Licht is the one who hired Smith. I think this is a big problem for Koetter now because he knows he has to get in his past boss face and tell him it’s not working. Licht has to be involved too and tell Smith the same. Smith had to had input as to whether Baker would work, how great Spence was going to be, Gholston deserved a big contract even though he’s not a pass rusher. Licht took Smith word and past history and bought into it too. So here’s what I would do? Tell Smith he’s got two games to improve the defense or he’s fired. After heis fired and nothing better comes about, then I’m firing Licht the end of the season and I would hire Shelton Quarles as the new GM; afterall, this guy was a good player and knows the inside outs of what it takes to be a GM. What do you think Trevor?

I think it’s a little premature to talk about all these firings. I know I said that in my article but that’s not a reality. I don’t think any moves happen until at least during the offseason. You have to remember, you can’t fire a guy if you have no one to replace him. Baring a total meltdown, I don’t see anyone going before the season is over. So whether we want to or not, we’re going to have to let this all play out.

I hear you. So when do you call it a meltdown? Are you saying there is no one who can fill Smith shoes within the defensive coaches? The only problem I see if we wait until the end of the season it might mean we might have to change most of the defensive players because their confidence in the organization might be compromised. Allowing to continue in losing due to defensive scheme and not do anything about it, could be worse. Okay so lets see what happens in the next two games. Go Bucs! Get a win!

You’re on the right track but I would go with Derrick Brooks as the GM. He is in the job now with the Storm doing the same thing Elway did before he went to the Broncos. Koetter is not Head Coach material. He has to be responsible as the Head Coach for Smith’s failures and Licht’s 2016 draft is turning into one of the biggest busts in history. He should be fired for that alone. Have to keep the Gruden drum banging. For 9 years the guy has been around the NFL seeing what other teams are doing good and bad. He can bring that back here. I read that Marrone put Jacksonville through a brutal training camp and look what they have been doing. This team is never prepared properly. Koetter looks like the Professor from Gilligan’s Island drawing up plays. He not a Head Coach.

I’m gunna start out by saying that I still think we can make the playoffs… We are two games out of the division I believe and haven’t played any divisional games yet.

However I do think the coaches are holding our team back.. I am not as against Dirk’s play calling as other fans are. I just don’t like his direction of this team. The players take on the attitude and personality of their coach, and our teams attitude and personality so far this year has been all talk and soft play. And DK seems like a lot of talk…
But Mike Smith’s play calling and scheme is horrible. A coach’s job is to put your players in a position to win and to give them the opportunity to make a play. But I believe he is putting our players in a position to try not to lose, and therefore it is causing us not to win. Our defense is not in a position to make plays. That’s why the only times they have made plays when it’s players going out on their own (david forcing fumbles) and making a play themselves or by luck (evans and grimes picks).

When it comes down to it I just ask myself the questions… Do I want this coaching staff for the next 5 years? and the answer is an easy NO. So therefore I think we should move on. Not waste Jameis’ cheap contract years and this talent we do have, like the colts did with Luck.

I am here Eric! I read every PR comment posted. And you are not F’d up, you’re just confounded as all of us are. You see the problems, I see the problems, they see the problem. Thanks for the compliment, but there is no insight, eloquence, or social commentary that will make a player rush or a tackler tackle, nor does it seem to change the defensive scheme for the following Sunday. After having given my opinion on so many prior Sundays, I leave the responsibility where it lies with the FO and the coaches, and take the admonishment of ones before me with more wisdom than me “sometimes you should just say nothing”. Lest we be prepared to read the same condemnations next Sunday (my way of saying bitching and moaning is not going to help – it hasn’t. Something has to change!). Go Bucs!

do you realize when the Bucs D was kick ass they recorded an NFL record for consecutive SAC’s at 69 games!. think about that, 69 games in a row with at least 1 sac, most of those games were multiple SAC’s. And now, we are grasping for 1 sac every other game. no wonder we are getting destroyed.

I have petty much thought for the past few games it was the scheme that was at the root cause of this defensive debacle and this article has now pretty much confirmed it.
The defense looks pretty much how Smith’s defense looked in the last two years in Atlanta without John Abraham.
It also has that odd earie look of Lovie Smith’s defense. Yikes.
It reminds me of when Mark Arroyo took over as the OC in Smith’s first year and everyone wanted to blame the offensive line for being so bad.
My position was that these guys were all pros who had played pretty well the year before and not all of them could go bad at the same time without some real good help.
Exit Arroyo and enter Koetter who helped make the OL look good again. 1400 yard rushing year for Martin. He also did it with two rookies.are
That’s not to say the players don’t share part of the blame.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think Swaggy has ever played 3 technique in his entire life as a pro so why would we think we were going to use him to replace McCoy although he was seen as a rotational player and not a full time starter.Swaggy needs to play better and with more effort. Simple as that.
As for the rest of the DL it seems pretty apparent this will be Ayres last year in the league. He doesn’t appear to have that same nasty edge as he did last year and without that, the DL has suffered.
We also have lost the two edge rushers we were counting on at the beginning of the season.
Whatever the case, the defense is in for a major shakeup next year due to ages and contracts expiring.
One last lone criticism about this article which overall I thought was well written and diagnosed.
I simply can’t believe the corners don’t know who is going to be the robber safety. That sounds like pure insanity to me. I sure hope you aren’t right about that.

Really nice work Trevor. With each failure to stop the opponent, the psyche of the team takes another hit. The mentality is so important. We allow the opponent to have so much success their confidence level increases to the point they think they can do anything. This week we need to keep Cam Poutin on the bench with a towel over his head and not doing that Superman gesture.

Trevor, as you say it’s way to early to talk firings, so when in your opinion should we start? I mean we win the next two against division foes, we’re right in it. Lose both, I think it’s time to start the talk. I can see us beating Carolina, but our defense against Brees in his house, could get ugly. So Trev, and friends, what will, or won’t it take to keep this staff along with Licht in tact? I say, going 6-10, causes the Glazers to make a move. We were supposed to go the other direction this year, say 10-6, 11-5, playoff berth. Going backwards will not bode well.

Great article Trevor. That 3-3-5 is ugly. A lot of good comments here as well. Hopefully Smith had a good long meeting with his defense this week and took their input to use in this week’s game. GMC, David, Ward, Ayers, McDonald, Baker, Grimes are all veteran guys who know how to play football and if Smith lets them help him in utilizing theirs talents this D can turn around quick. I am a fan of Beckwith, he has played well, but he is a rookie and they don’t need to force him on the field. Use heavy 4 man fronts, shit go Gholston,Baker, McD, GMC, Ayers in certain situations as some suggested, blitz David, let Kwon and Ward roam the middle, play the corners up tighter and give them help over top. I realize with that 5 man front that is 12 men but in 4 man fronts …. anyway, obviously change is needed quickly.

Going to have to manufacture pressure this week and have a real strong front 7 with someone keeping on eye on mccaffery to help out the ailing secondary! Go Bucs